Critical Thinking and Spiritual Reasoning

Personal accountability is hard to find these days. Believing in the devil has been detrimental to the African-American community as a whole. I refuse to pass on this mythical nonsense to my young children. Before, it was the white man holding a nation of millions back, now it’s Satan. Enough already with the excuses. Break this psychological bondage perpetuated generation after generation.

Each time I hear Satan blamed for something I cringe. The black church has taken the phrase, “The devil is a liar!” to another level. Effectively making this character a scapegoat for an entire race of people. One of the rules of playing church is to authenticate your faith with clichés. The enemy is attacking me. My marriage is under attack. The devil is using you. Satan doesn’t want you to hear this message, that’s why you were late getting to church today. Satan wants to prevent your financial breakthrough because he knows you’ll start praising God. The last one is often used when the speaker is encouraging the audience to “sow a seed” (i.e., give money).

Pastors of black congregations are usually quite skillful in making Satan the fall guy. In fact, when black Christians say, “Service was good today” they probably mean: “The devil was blamed for something, everyone nodded and shouted in agreement, and each of us gave a high five to someone and told them they’re coming out of whatever situation they’re in.” If you can master the art of story telling with Satan as the antagonist, then you’ll attract more people who want to play church. More folks signing up. More money coming in.

It’s not politically correct for African-Americans to publicly blame “Whitey” for the ills in their community as done in the past. Many find that term offensive and that belief outdated. Pointing an accusatory finger at Satan appears to be an acceptable way to invoke empathy from whites. Yet, it also invites apathy, underachievement, hopelessness, and self-hate within the black community. As black Christians continue to proclaim the power of Satan they do a disservice to their children by giving legitimacy to a spiritual Boogieman.

Faith has traditionally played a significant role among African Americans, while science has been marginalized. It is time to confront the issues that have kept too many Blacks out of the halls of science and confined to the pews. A dialogue with Richard Dawkins, Anthony Pinn, Sikivu Hutchinson, Todd Stiefel and moderated by Mark Hatcher concerning the role of faith and science in the Black Community.

Professor Anthony Pinn, Religious Studies at Rice University: “This is an ideal time and this event is an important opportunity to stress the importance for African Americans to critically engage the world and, through reasonable means, assess the issues impinging upon quality of life for African Americans across the country.”

Dr. Sikivu Hutchinson, noted author and activist: ”The Black Church’s policing of the bodies and destinies of black women and the lives of black gays and lesbians represents a bankrupt ‘morality’ which is just as pernicious as that of the Religious Right…if being black and being Christian are synonymous, then being black, female and religious (whatever the denomination) is practically compulsory. Insofar as atheism and humanism provide an implicit rejection of both black patriarchy and ‘authentic’ blackness, those who would dare to come out of the closet as atheists are potential race traitors.”

In 2004, Eddie Long, one of the richest and most powerful pastors in the black megachurch movement, led a march in Atlanta against homosexuality. This week, Mr. Long faces civil charges, which he has denied, that he took sexual advantage of two teenage boys from his flock.

How black evangelicals will respond to the allegations against Long is difficult to tell. Some in the African-American community worry that the allegations will deepen mistrust of homosexuals, especially because of the age of the alleged victims (although no criminal charges have been filed).

“The point is not whether [Long] is gay or not or he denies or admits it, but this is really about how people [in the black community] feel that black people should be represented in public, and that is about being heterosexual,” says Melinda Chateauvert, an African-American studies professor at the University of Maryland, in College Park. “There are [millions] of black people who are gay, members of families, pastors of churches, who serve in the military – they’re everywhere. But the deliberate closeting – not necessarily by them, but by other people – is really problematic.”

The vibrancy and viability of America’s black churches have suddenly become matters of intense debate among African-American religious leaders. The debate was sparked by a Huffington Post “obituary” for the black church, which prompted numerous responses about the fate of one of America’s most important and enduring religious institutions.

The genesis of the controversy was the Feb. 24, 2010, essay, “The Black Church Is Dead,”by Eddie S. Glaude Jr., the William S. Tod Professor of Religion and chair of the Center for African American Studies at Princeton University.

Glaude noted that while nearly 90 percent of African-Americans identify with a religious group and blacks are one of the most religious communities in American society, “the idea of this venerable institution [the black church] as central to black life and as a repository for the social and moral conscience of the nation has all but disappeared.”

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About

K.C. Brownstone is an independent scholar who believes that critical thinking and spiritual reasoning should not be mutually exclusive. She received theological education from Dallas Theological Seminary and Asbury Theological Seminary. Prior to pursuing writing interests Brownstone was a Christian Education leader for ministries in Atlanta, GA and Orlando, FL. She currently lives and works in the Dallas, TX area. Societal Concern: Children of incarcerated parents.

Biblical Criticism, Early Church, Biblical Studies

Caution: Not a feel-good-cause-you’re-blessed-and-highly-favored blog.